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Saturday, June 8, 2013

MID-CENTURY MEMORIES: BERKELEY!

Hi friends! Sorry I've been kind of a.w.o.l. on this blog. A lot has been going on, mostly good (our son's 2nd birthday, a fun trip to Berkeley, California over Memorial Day weekend), but one not-so-good (root canal ... ugh) too. But now we're getting a little break before everything gets hectic again starting tomorrow (two children's birthday parties on one day). Thought I'd take some time to update a bit.

Our trip to Berkeley was just wonderful! I went to college there (Go Bears!), and we hadn't been back for a long time; also, my husband and son had never been there, so this seemed like the ideal time for a trip. The weather was near-perfect, and the following day was a holiday so we could relax after the long trip.

Berkeley is in many ways a little mid-century time capsule! It was, after all, one of the epicenters of the '60s  countercultural revolution, with the Free Speech movement of the early '60s that started at the UC Berkeley campus. To this day, it's a place where many hippie-type folks still get together and live their lives.

Here are some mid-century highlights from our trip. First, on the famous Telegraph Avenue, the quintessential hippie transport, a VW van!



And of course, Berkeley is full of tie-dye, lots and lots of tie-dye! It's a very popular print among both students and other Berkeley residents. These tees were being sold by a couple of street vendors:





On campus, the Golden Bear Cafe is a wonderful example of mid-century architecture, with its accordian-pleated roof detail:



But we saw one of the cutest mid century buildings at the end of our trip, a still-operating Foster's Freeze! We just had to stop here for some ice cream: 



All in all, we had one of the most memorable trips ever to Berkeley. Can't wait to go back!

1 comment:

  1. Hi! I was looking for a picture of the Berkeley Foster's Freeze to use for something, and ended up discovering your very cool blog. I too have memories of Berkeley, its architecture and other peculiarities.

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